The Redskins Bye Week Report/ReviewI know the Redskins are already half-way through their season, but this seems like a good time to do it considering the timing of the bye week and the sentiments expressed in the last couple of weeks. And I do not work today, so a rare day off seems a good time to finish this. Any stylistic comments are accepted and appreciated.

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Note: I have missed the game against the Panthers, and most of the Tampa Bay game.
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A fair amount of turnover from last season when you consider all the free agents who were not re-signed and the new players drafted who made the roster. There will continue to be roughly 20 per cent of the roster in flux, at least in the short-term, before potentially dropping to 10 per cent. These percentages do not factor in players added due to injury.

PART TWO: The 2012 Opening Day Roster
All roster information via Redskins.com

Legend of ColorRed is a player who was pre-Shanahan - draft or free agent.
Blue is a Shanahan draft pick.
Green is a Shanahan free agent.
Orange was acquired via trade by Shanahan/Allen.
Olive is an in-season acquisition.
Indigo is a practice squad promotion

*Technically pre-Shanahan, but he was converted to FB, so Shanahan should get the credit.
**Chris Wilson arrived from the CFL, spent 4 seasons on the Redskins roster, was out of football last year. I classified him as a Shahanan free agent.

SynopsisThe green: most brought in as transition players (+/- 3 years, ie. whenever their replacement is ready), they include: Josh Wilson, Joshua Morgan, Stephen Bowen, Brandon Merriweather. The others are equivalent to a one-year patch: Sexy Rexy, Jordan Black, Madieu Williams, Cedric Griffin, Tanard Jackson. Even though I am a fan of Steiger, you'll notice I did not include him in the transition players list because he could be up for a Adam Carriker length deal or he may not get a long-term contract.

There will be exceptions, and they include: Tyler Polumbus and Dezmon Briscoe. While they may not be with the team in 2014, it is possible they do enough to earn themselves an extended stay.

Notice the amount of green and red in that secondary (and olive)? It is the one area that has been put aside in the interest of building the rest of the roster.

You build from front to back. The starting OL was built before addressing the receivers and the QB position. It is expected that the team continues to look to fill the depth positions with draft picks for the offensive line and linebacking crew, unfortunately they will need to build re-build the secondary.

A Quick run-down:
- We cannot expect Doughty to stay much longer
- Tanard might not be re-instated
- Bernstine has been injured 3 of the last 5 years (iirc, could be 4/5)
- DeAngelo's contract is going to see him cut
- Madieu Williams will not be re-signed
- Cedric Griffin is a coin flip to return
- Jordan Pugh is still a relative unknown
- Chase Minnifield is a prayer

Those who remain: Josh Wilson, Richard Crawford, Brandon Merriweather and DeJon Gomes. Slim pickings for sure. Unless Gomes has a career trajectory similar to Dashon Goldson, this unit needs priority status and that will cost money that the team does not necessarily have to allocate to that position.

Note: I did not include Kentwaan Balmer as I assume he has given up on his career.

-- Losing Fred Davis has hurt this offense and hurt his bargaining position. If the Skins are receptive to signing him long-term, this has helped their negotiations at a crucial time because of the cap penalty.

-- 2011 draft picks Roy Helu and Chris Neild look to have a tough road back and may not be healthy for the off-season. The same can be said for Chase Minnifield.

-- The recovery of Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker will have a fairly significant impact on the moves that the FO makes in the off-season, and the performance of the team in 2013. Obviously this defense relies fairly extensively on the presence of Brian Orakpo. In the event of Orakpo's healthy return, the depth at OLB will have to be addressed in the draft and free agency.

-- Really hard to know what the Redskins have in Minnifield and Bernstine. They could contribute nothing, or one could be a Reed Doughty or Jason McCourty (Titans starter at CB). Troublesome that Berstine was injured.

-- And of course, Jammal Brown would be a boon if he can play a quarter of the season and go into the 2013 offseason healthy.

Trent Williams is finally living up to his All Pro potential
Perry Riley
Poor picks for the rest - I chalk this up to the FO having minimal time to establish their preferences and criteria, ie. scouts and FO not on the same page yet.

Kerrigan is an impact starter.
Hankerson and Jenkins will be important rotation players from hereon. Both could be starters at some time during the 2013 season.
Roy Helu will be the speed to Alfred Morris' power.
Evan Royster and DeJon Gomes
Niles Paul and Aldrick Robinson are valuable role players.
Mo Hurt's future is uncertain - long arms, so I could see him sticking as a RT reserve.

Robert Griffin III is franchise QB material - If Griffin becomes an elite QB, the compensation was entirely worth it.
Josh LeRibeus was active last week as the only interior OL sub.
Kirk Cousins is an ideal young back-up QB. Solid player, good leader, strong work ethic, intelligent.
Keenan Robinson has seen time increasingly in passing situations, some issues with play diagnosis.
Adam Gettis - won't know anything about him until next year.
Alfred Morris is pretty darn awesome.
Tom Compton - won't know anything about him until next year.
Richard Crawford has largely been inactive after seeing early playing time and getting beat a few times for long passing plays.
Bernstine has great athleticism, but just like college, seems to have been hit with the injury bug.

Director of Football Operations - Paul Kelly
Director of Player Development - Phillip Daniels

Will there be any changes?

I doubt any coach will be taken from another team, one of the advantages of a losing record, unless it is from the college level. Even then, I do not see it as likely, although Chris Foerster is surely attracting some attention at that level. I think the offensive side of the ball needs absolutely no changes, and I hope no vacancies open.

My preference would be to move on from both Haslett and Danny Smith, but considering Slowik is still around, I can hardly be any more than hopeful.

My expectation is that Shanahan will aggressively pursue a high-profile candidate for DC, and see what is out there for STs coordinator. Haslett is not the worst option, but obviously there is something lost in translation and a new chess player should be found. This would be my list for replacements:

Shanahan will want someone who has a lot of experience as a coordinator, and likely someone who has been a head coach, as he will be focusing on the offensive side of the ball and overall team management. If they get one of those three, this defense can turn it around. Romeo Crennel is a dream that I wish could come true.

PART SEVEN: Play-Calling

A lot of questions about the play-calling, and it's probably the hardest thing to assess about a club because we lack the footage and play-call to match up with it - would love to have them.

For Kyle Shanahan, I have been really impressed. Just when we were clamoring about Griffin getting hit too much when tossing the pitch in the pistol (vs the Bengals), we have yet to see him get hit that cleanly since. Despite Garcon's season ending injury (yes, I'm calling this), Moss' inconsistencies, and Davis' injury, Griffin is still having success in large part because he has been given that are both simple and effective. Lots of similar plays from different formations that shows Mike Shanahan's influence.

I abhor using Banks on offense, truly, but they have minimal options right now for speed. When I started to grumble like an old man about it, lo-and-behold they start using Josh Morgan as the receiver who motions to the backfield. He is constantly improving in his ability to identify when to use a play to maximize the skills of a particular individual.

Kyle is making adjustments in-game and on a weekly basis. There are many long-play drives, Morris is having a great deal of success. When it comes down to crunch time, he is putting Griffin in a good position to come out on top.

The defense is the tough part. This recent discussion about the Armanti Edwards touchdown is a good example. One player did not execute and the defense was torched. Going back to earlier in the season, we saw DeAngelo calling Gomes to his side versus the Bengals because Gomes seemingly did not realize that the defense needed to adjust to the wildcat audible.

There seems to be multiple plays on a per game basis where this is happening. Are the coaches not prepping the players on situational football or are the players not making the proper in-game adjustments? Considering most of it is in the secondary, and some in the LBs, should we be questioning Raheem Morris more than Jim Haslett. They were playing better last year with Bob Slowik as their position coach.

Considering the success that teams have had using their TEs, it seems to suggest that it is more than play-calling. London Fletcher cannot seem to cover TEs anymore, and in response Haslett is putting Robinson out there, or having Riley or a corner do it. The adjustments are being made, at some point we have to expect the play to be executed. It appears that is what it is coming down to. No different than the receivers dropping 10 catches in one game, 7 of which were essentially perfect passes

I believe this defense needs a change, but considering that players are losing individual match-ups and the play-calls suggest they are being put in the right position, perhaps too much blame is being leveled on Jim Haslett. The team stayed with the NYG because of defensive play-calling, and lost because Williams was not at proper depth, which has happened at various times this season.

In sum, great development from Kyle Shanahan and Haslett may be a fall guy rather than the person who should be fired.

PART EIGHT: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Green - need to be re-signed.
Red - need to cut.
Dark Blue - depends on contract demands, available free agents and progression of young players.

Sleepy Fred should get a deal, as should Steiger, Zo and DY.
All depends on the contract for Logan Paulsen.
Tyler Polumbus could be bumped if J.Brown and M.Hurt are kept, and Compton makes the squad.
It is time to move on from Kedric Golston.
Chris Baker's spot they might reserve for Neild, or they could draft another late-round NT.
One of Wilson or Jackson could stay
I see Cedric Griffin returning, but that's nothing more than a guess based on DeAngelo's departure.
I am in favor of giving Tanard Jackson another shot.
I expect the team to draft a return specialist to replace Banks.

- Brandon Banks = great burst and ability to turn the corner, fumbler, lacking production

Where to from here?

The team does not have limited ability moving forward to fix their holes. They may face limitations for immediate upgrades, however they will not overwhelming suffer because of the loss of the next two first round picks. Somewhere in here, I hope some of you have come to this conclusion.

Their primary concern is developing their talent as it comes in. Clearly the scouts and draft room are doing some good work finding talent that fits the scheme, so it's about developing that talent at all levels to ensure that there is minimal drop-off in the event of injuries.

What remains is coaching developing the draft picks, players like Leonard Hankerson, Josh LeRibeus, DeJon Gomes, Jarvis Jenkins, Keenan Robinson, Richard Crawford. As long as the coaching staff can develop those players into contributors, then the team has the ability to have success moving forward.

Although at mid-season the team does not have the record I thought it would, as long as Griffin's development continues as planned this team can be a perennial contender. Remember: this is a QB driven league, and if you have a franchise QB, a franchise LT, a go-to receiver and elite pass rushers (Orkapo and Kerrigan can be), you can make a lot of noise in this league.

I like how you showed the players that only have 3-year (or less) contracts. We are going to have to continue to aggressively pursue players despite the youth movement on the team.

Also, it was easy to be happy (or mad) for the Leribeus and Gettis (and Compton) picks in particular when they happened since they are Olinemen. Then be upset because they are not on the field when we have other holes. But, as you mentioned, if they can play well enough to get on the field, and we continue to bolster our lines the way we have been, then the team will really come around once the young guys develop. However, there is ALOT riding on the development of these guys!_________________AnotherAMAZINGsigBYmike23md

But, as you mentioned, if they can play well enough to get on the field, and we continue to bolster our lines the way we have been, then the team will really come around once the young guys develop. However, there is ALOT riding on the development of these guys!

Oh, it's essential. This project does not work if the scouts do not have success, and correspondingly the draft room. Then they have to mold them, which is where the coaching comes in.

When you look at the offensive and defensive lines, and the wide receiver position, they all follow the same pattern: get your short-term fixes and if a long-term solution is available, grab them (T-Will, Carriker, Cofield, Garcon).

Aside from those few long-term players, build yourself a starting unit of transition players via free agency and develop the young talent behind them, giving them time to develop into NFL contributors. This way, you can probably have more success at finding lat-round gems because they have mentors and time with coaches and trainers to make the jump to a starter's spot when they are ready.

The way the offensive line was built indicates the template for the secondary in that they will continue to add free agents until they can find a couple to fill in long-enough for the young players to come in. It appears they hoped that Merriweather could be one of those players, along with Josh Wilson or DeAngelo Hall. But, we haven't seen anything from Merriweather and one of Hall or Wilson will surely be gone next year.

Unfortunately, with so many needs you cannot do it in one or two years, which is why there is a 4 year plan for building the team (2010 was the purge, nothing more).

But, as you mentioned, if they can play well enough to get on the field, and we continue to bolster our lines the way we have been, then the team will really come around once the young guys develop. However, there is ALOT riding on the development of these guys!

Oh, it's essential. This project does not work if the scouts do not have success, and correspondingly the draft room. Then they have to mold them, which is where the coaching comes in.

When you look at the offensive and defensive lines, and the wide receiver position, they all follow the same pattern: get your short-term fixes and if a long-term solution is available, grab them (T-Will, Carriker, Cofield, Garcon).

Aside from those few long-term players, build yourself a starting unit of transition players via free agency and develop the young talent behind them, giving them time to develop into NFL contributors. This way, you can probably have more success at finding lat-round gems because they have mentors and time with coaches and trainers to make the jump to a starter's spot when they are ready.

The way the offensive line was built indicates the template for the secondary in that they will continue to add free agents until they can find a couple to fill in long-enough for the young players to come in. It appears they hoped that Merriweather could be one of those players, along with Josh Wilson or DeAngelo Hall. But, we haven't seen anything from Merriweather and one of Hall or Wilson will surely be gone next year.

Unfortunately, with so many needs you cannot do it in one or two years, which is why there is a 4 year plan for building the team (2010 was the purge, nothing more).

I have to be up in 8 hours, so until tomorrow les gars.

i agree. Although, I'm not convinced Josh Wilson is gone next year. He should move into the short term category and have to compete for a #2 spot, but maybe be #3 cb till we get it all fixed. He's average, knows the system, and right now we need all we can get.

Hall makes most sense to move on from. Most overpaid and overrated player on the team._________________RIP SSFmike23md

"God made certain people to play football... Sean was one" JG

Last edited by turtle28 on Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

Just awesome Footy. I've been formulating my mid-year review in my mind since Sunday. I will wait to post it until you are done (when do you think that will be?).

By tonight I will be done. EDIT: By...tomorrow, but post yours whenever.

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Quote:

i agree. Although, I'm not convinced Josh Wilson is gone next year. He should move into the short term category and have to compete for a #2 spot, but maybe be #3 cb till we get it all fixed. He's average, knows the system, and right now we need all we can get.

Hall makes most sense to move on from. Most overpaid and overrated player on the team.

Definitely appears that Hall is going to go, but I think that is largely because of the salary cap penalty and there would be 300k in penalties if he was cut, so on the whole the obvious choice. However, I would not rule out giving DeAngelo Hall an extension and lowering his annual cap number. Ultimately, it just makes too much sense to cut him.

Just awesome Footy. I've been formulating my mid-year review in my mind since Sunday. I will wait to post it until you are done (when do you think that will be?).

By tonight I will be done. EDIT: By...tomorrow, but post yours whenever.

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Quote:

i agree. Although, I'm not convinced Josh Wilson is gone next year. He should move into the short term category and have to compete for a #2 spot, but maybe be #3 cb till we get it all fixed. He's average, knows the system, and right now we need all we can get.

Hall makes most sense to move on from. Most overpaid and overrated player on the team.

Definitely appears that Hall is going to go, but I think that is largely because of the salary cap penalty and there would be 300k in penalties if he was cut, so on the whole the obvious choice. However, I would not rule out giving DeAngelo Hall an extension and lowering his annual cap number. Ultimately, it just makes too much sense to cut him.

well it's Hal's inconsistent play and his salary IMO. Even w/o the penalty, I'm not sure why you would want his attitude and inconsistent play affecting our young team. The guy is a "self-proclaimed leader" that shows little signs of being one in the field. If you can't back up what you preach as a vet, young guys tune the old man out.

It definitely makes sense to cut him and go in another direction_________________RIP SSFmike23md